Boston – The Boston/New England District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) announced the publication of Reimagining Communities, a 31-page analysis of ULI Boston/New England’s Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) program.
The evaluation was commissioned to examine the impact of ULI’s TAP process and assess if TAP recommendations were implemented by communities.
The programs are run by ULI Boston/New England’s real estate advisory committee, containing senior leaders within the commercial real estate industry. Members of the community visit local municipalities, and advise them on land use and economic development, along with other local issues of importance.
Over 50 TAPs have been held over the past 20 years, and ULI Boston/New England was interested in measuring the impacts of the program. To do so, ULI enlisted Rivera Consulting, which was commissioned to examine the impact of TAPs on communities, identify which recommendations were implemented, understand where in the planning process communities deem TAPs most useful, and establish a consistent set of follow-up questions and check-ins.
Rivera Consulting examined 50 TAPs, spanning from 2002-2019 utilizing both quantitative and qualitative evaluations. The study received responses from 46 of the 50 respondents, and 82% said their behavior and approach to municipal planning and economic development strategies were affected by the TAPs process, with 62% saying at least one key, developable asset addressed in their TAP report had been redeveloped consistently with ULI Boston/New England’s recommendations.
